Archive for December, 2016

As we come to a close of this year these four cheeky monkeys remind us what happiness is all about!

2016 has been one of our hardest years yet, we miss our brother. Nothing can replace the hole he has left in our hearts, we feel older, and more vulnerable. It’s hard not to dwell on sadness, but we are grateful of the light this season brings.

I read this week “The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.”
– Russell M. Nelson

We have never been more grateful for all those we love!

We hope your Christmas is filled with love and peace, and busy making memories!

I can’t believe it’s only 9 days until Christmas and I haven’t shared my living room yet! One of the great benefits of having a fake tree is that I can set it up early, so I’ve literally been enjoying it for more than a month already!

The girlies (as I’ve said before) are getting really into all the different holidays and things that change around the house. Last year I didn’t dare put up a full size tree, they were just at that age where they were into everything. This year to try and prevent them touching it I built a wall of boxes around the bottom to create some distance, it’s worked like a charm!

Like we shared last year (see HERE), I gave my clearance fake tree a bit of a makeover with some spray paint. I just love how it gives a hint of flocked but still has a lot of green coming through.

I always look forward to stores getting in their Christmas goodies, yes…even if it is September! Although I have bins of decorations, I still like to buy one or two items each year to add to my collection. This year it was THIS garland from Target which now has 30% off!

I’ve loved adding some lights on the other side of the room with this garland and nativity.

I do miss having a real tree, and we’ll go back to that in the future, but for now bits of fresh greenery here and there will have to make do!

My mother-in-law gifted me THIS nativity the first Christmas we were married, I’m still in love eleven years later and hope I will be for a lifetime!

For many it may not be worth while to decorate their bedroom for the holidays, but my bedroom is a central part of the house; lots of TV watching, book reading and laundry folding going on here. The light is so great that it’s often my favorite room to spend time in, and definitely my go-to heaven while the girls take their nap.

Our bed is from Pottery Barn, and I often switch out having the top bars on or not. It’s much cozier with them on, so for winter it’s perfect and a great frame for adding a lit garland.

These oversized pinecones help make the corners pop. Topped off with a bit of white paint to mimic snow, and a few sprigs and ribbons from Hobby Lobby.

This ‘Merry Christmas’ garland was one of my first decorations I purchased after we were married 11 years ago. It looks great where ever I hang it, I only wish the colors hadn’t faded with time.